Frederick C. Schafrick

Frederick Schafrick focuses his practice on the appellate representation of manufacturers and insurers in briefing and arguing cases in appellate and trial courts throughout the country. He has briefed and argued appeals in such courts as the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the D.C., Fifth, Ninth and Tenth Circuits and in the California and Connecticut Courts of Appeal. He is a member of Goodwin's Appellate Litigation practice.

Mr. Schafrick has briefed and argued cases for airlines and aircraft manufacturers on choice of law, forum non conveniens, the government contractor defense, and airline liability for compensatory and punitive damages in cases governed by the Warsaw Convention. For 20 years, he has assisted aircraft manufacturers in the invoking of the federal statute-of-repose defense contained in the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994, and has briefed and argued cases involving that statute. Outside of the aviation area, Mr. Schafrick has represented former asbestos producers and insurers in product liability litigation.

Mr. Schafrick’s representations include:

• Briefing of issues under the General Aviation Revitalization Act for general aviation manufacturers
• Pan Am on appeals in litigation arising from the bombing of Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland
• Pan Am’s insurers in litigation under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act seeking indemnity and contribution from Libya
• Two airlines in putative class actions challenging their settlements of lost baggage claims arising from international flights
• Insurers in lawsuits claiming that they fraudulently concealed available coverage or asserted fraudulent defenses in product liability litigation
• An insurer in a major asbestos-related bankruptcy
• Companies in suits seeking judicial review of EPA and OSHA regulations

Pro Bono

• Veterans in appeals to the U.S. Court of Veterans Claims
• National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty on a variety of matters

Mr. Schafrick is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the American Bar Association and the Defense Research Institute.

Mr. Schafrick was a partner at Shea & Gardner prior to its combination with Goodwin in 2004.

While in law school, Mr. Schafrick served as administrative editor of the Michigan Law Review.

Mr. Schafrick's publications and presentations include:

• “Incorporating New Developments Relating to Preemption and GARA into Your Litigation Strategy,” American Conference Institute 4th Annual Forum on Defending and Managing Aviation Litigation (June 2012)
• "Caselaw Developments Under the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994," ABA Section on Litigation 12th Annual Aviation Seminar (June 2006)
• "The Continuing Conflict in Applying the Government Contractor Defense to Failure-to-Warn Claims," Aviation and Space Law Committee Newsletter (Fall 2003)